Before the Fifth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party, there were personnel changes at the top level. Ni Yuefeng, the Secretary of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee, was removed from office with his whereabouts unknown.
On July 31st, Ni Yuefeng, the Secretary of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee, was removed from office, and Luo Wen, the Party Secretary and Director of the State Administration for Market Regulation of the CPC, took over the position. The official announcement stated that Ni Yuefeng has been “assigned to other duties”.
On the previous day, July 30th, the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee announced that the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee will be held in Beijing in October this year. The meeting also said that they “discussed other matters,” which is generally believed to include issues related to high-level personnel adjustments.
Public records show that Luo Wen, born in December 1964, has held various positions including Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the CPC, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, Standing Committee Member and Executive Vice Governor of the Sichuan Provincial Committee, and Deputy Secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Committee. In July 2022, he was appointed Party Secretary and Director of the State Administration for Market Regulation of the CPC, before this current adjustment. He is a member of the 20th Central Committee.
Born in September 1964, Ni Yuefeng has held roles such as Deputy Governor of Fujian Province, Standing Committee Member of the provincial committee, Secretary of the provincial discipline commission, and Secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Committee since 2011. Starting in May 2017, he served as the Party Secretary (ministerial level) of the General Administration of Customs, Deputy Director, and Director. Since April 2022, he has been the Secretary of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and Director of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress. He is also a member of the 20th Central Committee.
Ni Yuefeng’s current whereabouts are unknown.
Regarding Ni Yuefeng’s removal, there are rumors circulating on the internet suggesting that he may be appointed as the Secretary of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee, or there may be other changes.
However, when officials are removed and it is said that they have been “assigned to other duties,” it does not always indicate a positive development in the current political climate of the Chinese Communist Party. In July last year, Ma Xingrui was removed from the position of Secretary of the Xinjiang Regional Committee with a similar statement, but in April this year, he was investigated and removed from his role as the Deputy Leader of the Central Rural Work Leading Group. In May this year, Wang Zhonglin was removed from the position of Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee with the same statement, sparking rumors of his potential transfer to key positions in the Ministry of State Security or the Ministry of Public Security. However, it was later confirmed that he was transferred to a position in the National People’s Congress Standing Committee the following month.